


Fly High, Fly Free

by GuileandGall



Series: Diary of a Nobody [4]
Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Anxiety, Bad Weather, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Flying, Kissing, Nervousness, Rain, Thunderstorms, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25015519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuileandGall/pseuds/GuileandGall
Summary: John extends an invitation that Leah cannot resist, but nature intrudes, presenting a detour that isn’t entirely unwelcome.
Relationships: Deputy | Judge/John Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/John Seed
Series: Diary of a Nobody [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757959
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Fly High, Fly Free

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that it might be a lot of fun to give these two the first tastes of a relationship before they end up at odds. Again, my deepest and most sincere thanks to @amistrio and @chyrstis for betaing this for me. Their insight and suggestions have been so helpful, and really helped me gain confidence with this piece and with writing John, especially.

**-1-**

The sun hung high in the clear sky as the afternoon pressed onward. Adrenaline pumped through Leah’s veins as she watched Helena slip away beneath them and the mountains poke through the trees. There was no place more beautiful, she thought. Shifting from side to side, she stared out of the cockpit of John’s plane. The area, familiar as it may be, took on a whole other nature from this altitude. The glassy surface of a lake reflected the puffy clouds in the blue sky. Pale dirt roads spidered over the hills to destinations unknown as they disappeared into thick stands of dark green evergreen trees.

The offer to fly her home for the weekend seemed a little over the top at first, but the tone of his voice when he suggested the idea made it impossible to turn down. Plus, the opportunity to cut her commute from 3 hours to 30 minutes made the proposal as tempting as the man making it. She had to admit that giving him her number had been the smartest decision she made in the last six months.

John Seed was tall, lean, and handsome with a pair of baby blue eyes she could just drown in. Even better, he proved to be a gentleman and a breathtaking kisser. Leah sat back in the rear seat of the antique plane and shifted; a part of her was sure she could feel the condom she’d stuffed in her pocket before she headed out to her truck. Maybe she was jumping the gun, but she was into him. And he seemed to like her, too.

The awe and elation that came with the flight did nothing to quell her clashing feelings; the enthusiasm and anxiety battled within her over what might happen later. She didn’t know if she read too much into the way things were going between John and her. Sure, she’d been raised in the church, went to Sunday School and services every week with her family, but John’s religiosity far outstripped hers. To top it off, his brother was a pastor from what she’d been able to glean from their talks. Of course, there was also the chance that she’d misread every sign that seemed to hint that he might be ready to go to the next level.

With a shake of her head, she rolled her eyes at her own adolescent thoughts.

“Leah.”

 _God, I love the way he says my name_ , she thought.

“Leah!”

With a start, she sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, John. Sorry. I was … distracted.”

“Can’t say I blame you.” There was a hint of glee in his voice when it filled her ears again through the headset. “It’s beautiful up here.”

Little did he know she wasn’t distracted _only_ by the scenery beneath them. Her attention flicked forward, catching a hint of his face in the small rear-view mirrors near the control panel in front of him. She had no idea what it might actually be called, but that seemed as good a term as any.

 _Damn those sunglasses_ , she thought. She would have loved to know if he might be sneaking a peek at her, like she was at him.

“It really is,” she agreed.

“See that stick in front of you?”

“Yeah,” she said, scrunching her eyebrows together.

“Grab it.”

“Why?”

“Just hold it steady.”

She did as he asked, but only because she had an inkling about what he might be planning. “John, I do not know how to fly.”

“It isn’t difficult. Just keep the position fixed.”

“John.”

“It’s fine, Leah. I have faith in you.”

 _Guess it_ _’s great that one of us does_ , she thought as she stared down at her hands. Her grasp was so tight on the yoke that her knuckles were turning white. The possibility of moving it the wrong way and sending them into that glassy lake they’d passed scared the shit out of her. “John?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know how to fly, _John_.”

“Flying is the easy part,” he told her in a relaxed tone. “Actually, the trickiest thing is getting into and out of the air. Once you’re up here, though, it’s a total dream. Just keep your heading.”

“John! Don’t you dare let go of that stick!” Leah yelled.

“Let go?” he said. _Damn him_ , she could hear the smirk in his voice. “I haven’t been flying this plane for at least three minutes now.”

“What?”

His hands rose high enough for her to see them from her seat. “See? It’s so easy, you didn’t know you were doing it.”

“You put your hands back on those controls,” she admonished, aiming for stern castigation that came out more like stark panic.

John, unperturbed by her tone, threaded his hands behind his head. “But this is so relaxing.”

“For you, maybe.” She could feel the tension building in her shoulders. A quake trickled down her arms to her hands, which telegraphed into the movement of the aircraft. “Christ,” she hissed under her breath. Leah tried to correct every single little tremor.

“Ease up a little. Not so tight,” John instructed, his voice buttery and soothing. “You don’t drive with a white-knuckle grip. You shouldn’t fly with one either.”

Leah Rook knew stubborn when she saw it or heard it; hell, she could be as bull-headed herself. Despite his reassuring tone, she recognized the fact that he bore no intention of rescuing her from this fresh new hell. No, John would not give this up until she tried to fly the plane, _actually tried_. Leah sighed and summoned up the will to address the anxious tightness creeping through her upper body.

“If you push away from you, you’ll tip the nose downward. Pull back and our altitude will rise. If you want to bank left or right, do it gently. If you bank hard, you could take us for a real fun spin though.” He said it like the move might be something worth trying.

“I don’t think so,” she said flatly, disagreeing with every fiber of her being.

“I thought you said you were adventurous,” John chided.

Leah laughed tensely. “Adventurous is rock climbing or base jumping. Putting your plane in the hands of someone who has never flown—that’s just foolish.”

“I disagree. You’re doing a great job.”

“Not sure your insurance carrier would agree.” She could feel the shaking of the muscles in the front of her shoulders, but a slow, smooth movement of the yoke kept it from being quite as obvious.

“Well, then they’re fools. I trust you with my plane and more,” he admitted.

Leah’s eyes shot up toward those mirrors. He didn’t look like someone who had said something they didn’t intend. Of course, that observation didn’t make her brain restart in a timely manner. She just blinked, once, twice. “Glad you approve,” she managed to mumble around her own myriad of thoughts.

John chuckled; hands still folded behind his head like he was just enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon as the world slipped by beneath them. He was silent for a time, then spoke up again. “Take a look at those dials in front of you.”

Peeking up at him in the mirror again, she noticed he’d slid his sunglasses back into his hair and looked right at her. Her green eyes lowered once more, skating over the panel with the ease of someone held at gunpoint. John proceeded to talk her through a basic understanding of the dials and knobs, then directed her through an easy bank onto a new heading.

Flying got easier after that. It still intimidated her, but Leah felt the tension easing gradually. She piloted the plane for about ten more minutes before John finally sat back up again. “Want to try your hand at a landing?”

_Fuck no!_

“I’ll pass,” Leah told him a little tightly.

“All right then. Let me take her,” he said in a smooth tone.

“All yours.” She let go of the stick like it suddenly burned her, holding both her hands up in surrender as she sank against the back of the seat finally.

He landed them at a grass covered dirt strip carved out of a thick section of forest. It was bumpy, but she blamed that on the locale, not his skill. Once he’d taxied toward the hangar, they disembarked, and Leah waited to get both her feet back on solid ground before she hauled off and punched him in the shoulder—it wasn’t hard, but it was more than just playful.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Leah lectured, wearing a bit of a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

John chuckled and pulled her toward him. “You’re a natural.” His arms folded around her in a gentle embrace

“Don’t try and butter me up with compliments.” Leah narrowed her green eyes in a failing attempt to be upset with him.

He brushed her chestnut hair behind her ear, then let his fingers trail down the length of her neck. “I would never.” The seriousness in his tone didn’t match up with the mischievous look in his blue eyes.

“Uh-huh.”

John pressed a gentle peck to her pouting lips.

For the moment, that appeased her reproving gaze. Of course, John Seed was quick on the uptake; reading people seemed to come naturally to him. He did it again, letting his lips linger on hers with each subsequent chaste peck.

Eventually, Leah leaned into his embrace and slipped an arm around him as she cast a curious glance around them. “Where are we?”

“About halfway between Helena and Fall’s End.”

She raised her eyebrows at him in an effort to get him to be more forthcoming.

“It’s a little duster strip. Doesn’t see a lot of use these days.”

“Mmhmm. And you just happened to stumble across it?”

“Or,” John replied in a sing-song tone, “the owner’s a friend.”

He kissed her on the tip of the nose, and she pressed her hands over the soft blue fabric of his vest. She liked being in his arms, feeling him close.

“So, what are we doing here?” she asked tugging at the top button.

John’s index finger curled under her chin, lifting her lips to his again. “I told you we’d get dinner.” His words were as slow and gentle as his touch. He took her hand in his and led her toward the hangar.

“I don’t see any restaurants,” she said as they strolled across the ground.

“Nope.”

“Then how do you propose to get dinner? Little late in the day for hunting,” she joked. “And I left my rifle at home.”

“There’s a pond not far off.”

Leah’s pace slowed. _He can_ _’t be serious._

John grinned at her as they neared the building. In disbelief, she looked away. She _could_ fish, but it wasn’t really something she enjoyed all that much. That’s when she noticed a picnic basket sitting atop a workbench on the back wall.

“John?” Her voice came out somewhere between curious and surprised.

“I’m kidding.” He gave her another crooked, beautiful smirk, squeezed her hand, and led her deeper into the hangar. “For someone who likes adventure, you ask a lot of questions.”

Leah giggled. “Blame the training,” she chided with an easy shrug.

“Here.” John picked up a thick blanket and handed it to her. She had to let go of his hand in order to carry the weighty coverlet.

John went to the refrigerator in the corner and pulled out a dark bag with a long handle that he slung over his shoulder. Leah leaned toward him and raised her eyebrows trying to catch a peek in the fridge and see if there was anything else of note tucked away inside.

“You know they say curiosity killed the cat,” he teased, closing the door again quickly.

“They also say that the future belongs to the curious. The ones who aren’t afraid to try life. Explore it, poke at it, question it, and turn it inside out.”

John’s gaze on her held a gentleness as he leaned against the table. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard that one.”

Leah grinned at him. “Well, I also had a teacher in middle school who told us that curiosity was the wick in the candle of learning.”

He laughed softly. “Take it I’m not the first person to point out that trait.”

She smiled widely, with a healthy trace of pride, and shook her head at him. “Not even close.”

Picking up the basket, John held his empty hand out for her to take. Leah did and laced their fingers together, but she curtailed her questions for the moment in order to just enjoy the quiet, the landscape, and the company.

**-2-**

Leah leaned down and grabbed a smooth-looking stone off the ground. “Tell me something, John.”

“Shoot,” he replied watching her.

She caught his gaze and flashed him a playful smile as she took a few backward steps away from him. “There were any number of a dozen places in town where we could have eaten. So, why’d we stop _all_ the way out _here_ for dinner?”

John smirked at her. “It was on the way.”

Her laughter bubbled up and echoed over the open clearing at the edge of the water. She cast him a disbelieving look, then turned. “Really?”

“The only place that serves food within five miles of that airstrip is … _well_ ,” he said with a smugness in his tone. “Let’s just say it didn’t strike me as your kind of place.”

A wide smile crossed her lips. “What? I love hot wings and G-strings just as much as the next girl,” she replied, laughing. Leah took a wide step and tossed the stone she’d picked up. It skipped four times across the flat water of the pond.

“Nice throw.” John stepped right into her personal space as she straightened. His hand brushed her hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck to the caress of the chilly breeze.

“Thanks.” Her voice was a little quieter now that he was so close. She blinked up at him, staring into those too blue eyes. _How can they be so damn blue?_

She didn’t feel his hand move down her back, didn’t notice his touch again until she felt the little pull against her waist meant to coax her into facing him. Leah followed his lead, turning into his embrace as his hands inched around her, bringing the two of them closer and closer. Moving even more slowly, she folded her arms against his chest at first.

“But no, the Landing Strip is not my idea of a romantic dinner destination,” John told her.

“Oh,” she said, her brow rising. Then her hands continued upward, reaching up and behind his neck, where she laced her fingers together. “Romantic, huh?”

John chuckled and held her tighter as he grinned at her. “Well, I thought a short flight and a picnic might beat out … how’d you put it? _Hot wings and G-strings_.”

“By miles,” Leah agreed. Her hand rubbed over the back of his head, smoothing his hair, not that it needed it. She just wanted to touch it. “You did good.”

“Glad you approve, Leah.” The tip of his nose brushed against hers.

She didn’t know what it was about the way he said her name, but it tugged at something in the core of her. Leah rose on her toes to brush her lips against his. He welcomed it, leaned into it, and deepened the kiss incrementally. It only broke for quick gasps, like the drowning breaking the surface for one last lifesaving breath. Then they fell back into one another once more. Leah held John’s face in her hands, licking at his lips for more. And he didn’t shy away from giving her every extra drop she sought. He pulled at her back, like somehow if they held each other tight enough they might just fuse together.

The breeze whipped up around them. A gentle rumble interrupting their exchange. John’s grip on her loosened. Only slightly at first, just enough to allow her heels to return to the earth as he loomed over her. When the pressure of his mouth on hers eased, Leah blinked her eyes open, staring up at him.

His smile enticed her, warm and sweet. His gaze reflected the heat she felt rising inside of her. A flash of light in the sky, drew her attention away from him, and she noticed the change in the clouds for the first time. 

“Looks like weather is moving in,” she said with a quiet, defeated sigh.

John’s attention shifted from her to the sky, which had traded its bright blue for a sickly greenish gray.

Leah leaned against him, looking at the angry dark clouds roiling in the sky like a silent threat. “We should probably head out if we’re going to beat it.”

He shook his head, hugging her closer against him. “We’re not going to beat it. We’d be flying right into it.” His attention returned to her face.

“Is this also part of the romantic dinner destination?” she teased.

John’s brow cocked upward. “It, most decidedly, is _not_.”

She had no doubt about the veracity of his answer, but the coincidence remained all the same. “I was kidding, John.” Her hand patted his chest gently.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “We should get back to the hangar before it cuts loose.”

“Not one for playing in the rain?”

John chuckled at her. “Not if I can help it.”

“Really?” Leah slipped out of his arms and headed back toward where they’d picnicked earlier. “I love playing in the rain.”

John’s laugh was gentle.

“What?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Nothing. Just trying to imagine a little version of you in pigtails dodging raindrops.”

What might have been a laugh turned into a chirp of surprise when a resounding clap of thunder echoed around them, startling her. “If we don’t hurry, you might not have to imagine.”

“Come on,” he told her, pressing a hand to the small of her back and increasing the speed of their retreat.

“Yeah,” she agreed, nodding at him. Their pace back to their picnic spot was much less relaxed than their stroll along the water.

Leah packed up the basket while John shook out and started to fold the blanket but gave up and tossed it over his arm. Gripping her upper arm, he pulled her to her feet as a crack of lightning hit a tree on the other side of the pond. She stumbled over her own feet, but John’s grip didn’t fail, and he helped her up again, pulling her against his side.

Even in their rush, the sky still opened up on them. She tried to lift the basket over her head, but failed miserably, which just made her giddy. She laughed brightly; face raised to the sky as John led her toward the hangar. The rain poured over her face, soaking her brown hair quickly. She stayed close to John when he released her and unfurled the blanket over and around them.

It was a gallant attempt. He tried hard to keep them covered, but by the time they reached the hangar even the blanket pissed rain on them, ensuring the storm drenched them.

Once they were under solid cover, John flung the blanket to the floor and shook his hands as if the action would strip away the water that soaked them both to the bone. Leah was cackling and breathless, even John chuckled warmly at the situation.

She put the basket on a crate near the door, as she wandered deeper in, still giggling.

“You’re drenched,” John told her. His wide grin lit his blue eyes with a distracting sparkle.

“So are you.” Leah pressed her palms against the metal behind her as she gazed at him.

He kept his distance, watching her. The intensity of his observation brought a flush to her cheeks.

“That, um,” she thumbed over her shoulder, “that lightning strike was really close.”

John nodded. He cocked his hip and set his hands on his hips. “It was. That alone would have grounded us, without the rain.”

Leah pressed her tongue over her bottom lip. She grinned at him, though the anxious giggling had mostly faded. “So, how long are we grounded for?”

“Until the storm’s over,” he said. His first step toward her was slow and easy.

Nibbling her bottom lip, she stared at him. “So, this could turn out to be an impromptu weekend getaway?” she teased.

“Would that be so horrible?”

She smirked at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave him a measuring look. “Well, the company’s not deplorable, so it might not be a complete loss.”

“Really?” he asked. He brushed a strand of wet hair off her forehead before setting his hands on her hips.

For a moment, she thought his question was serious, then the tickling began. Leah jolted to the side to escape his playful assault; her hands grabbed for his wrists to fight off any further tickling. He eased up quickly rather than pressing his luck. John slid his hands around her and Leah, trusting the teasing was over, draped her arms over his shoulders, hooking her fingers behind his neck.

“I could think of a myriad of worse ways to spend a weekend than stranded in an empty airplane hangar with a handsome man who has the most striking and expressive blue eyes.”

“That’s … mildly less insulting.”

“John,” Leah pleaded. “That’s not at all how I meant it.”

His smile widened. “I know. I just like the way you pout when you get flustered.”

Her green eyes widened, and she pushed at his shoulder with one hand. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he replied, pulling her closer.

The look in his eyes pinned her in place. Leah wouldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to; instead she stood there in his embrace waiting. Thankfully, her patience went untested, and John pressed a tender kiss against her lips.

Her thoughts faded into a contented hum as she kissed him back. John’s tongue traced the shape of her lips, rekindling her clash of emotions. Leah pressed herself against the plane of his chest, encouraged by his tightening embrace. The kiss deepened quickly until another crash of thunder and crack of lightning startled her, parting them.

A nervous cackle echoed through the cavernous space as she looked outside sheepishly.

John chuckled and ran his hand down her back comfortingly. When she glanced back up at him through long lashes, he moved to brush more of the wet hair off her face. “You love the rain, but you’re scared of thunder and lightning.”

“I’m not scared,” she argued with a narrowed gaze and petulant tone. “You can’t tell me that when you’re calm and content a virulent storm doesn’t shock you.”

“Sometimes.”

She liked the feel of his hands on her face, the way his fingers tucked her hair behind her ears, and his thumbs grazed her cheekbones. She traced the edge of his collar, wanting him closer, wanting him to kiss her again. “John.”

“Hmm.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” she asked, her eyes moved from his lips back to his eyes.

“About?”

Leah licked her lips, smiling at him and trying to hold back her laughter. “Next time you plan something like this, maybe check the weather report beforehand.”

John held her face in both his hands. “I’ll try to remember that.” The tip of his nose skimmed hers.

“Good,” she taunted with another quiet laugh. She stole a quick kiss before teasing him further. “Because, John, this is not the kind of wet a girl should be after a man tries to impress her with a ride in his own personal plane and a romantic picnic near a little pond in the middle of nowhere.”

That pulled a warm chuckle from John as well. His thumbs grazed her cheekbones. “Solid advice.” He brushed a soft kiss against her mouth.

Leah smiled up at him. “Always glad to help,” she responded in kind, pressing her lips to his. Her fingers grazed delicately down the muscles of his back. She fisted them at his waist when she reached his belt, pausing their momentum with a sudden realization.

A cold wind whipped through the open door with a low whistle. It went right through her wet clothes and a chill shook through her body.

“There’s a shower in the backroom,” John suggested, easing away from her. Clearly, he’d noticed her reaction.

Leah bore no intentions of being anywhere other than in his arms at the moment, so she playfully gasped at him. “Mr. Seed,” she replied in a scandalized tone. It shifted toward flirtatious as her mouth took on a sly set and she continued, “If you wanted to get me out of my clothes, you could have just asked.”

The look he gave her made her skin ignite. His brow lifted as a smirk curved his lips. “It would certainly give me a chance to rectify that mistake you mentioned earlier.” The trail of his fingertips curled along the column of her neck. When his ethereal touch grazed her collarbone, another shiver, one that had absolutely nothing to do with the wind, shuddered through her.

“Oh?” she replied. It had not been the response she’d been expecting, and it caught her off guard.

His fingers moved back up her neck.

“You’re going the wrong direction,” Leah told him after a moment of recovery.

John grinned at her. “Am I?”

Leah bit her bottom lip and gave a little nod. She swallowed and nodded, but her voice still came out husky with nerves. “Yep. Buttons are lower.”

He looked down between them. “Look at that. They certainly are.” His eyes met hers again.

“Are you playing coy with me, John Seed?” Her lips brushed against his with each syllable.

“Just like you have been all afternoon?” The backs of his fingers moved against the skin of her chest, flicking free a button.

“I haven’t been playing shy at all,” she stated, pressing a lingering kiss on his mouth. “I think I’ve been quite blatant about my interest in you. From the moment we met.”

John didn’t say a word, just dove for Leah’s mouth. His tongue slipped between her lips without even a hint of pretense or obstacle. Their bodies melded against one another save for his hand between them; he continued working at the fastenings of her blouse, while she held his mouth to hers greedily. The hand at her back moved when he pulled her shirt tail free.

Leah broke the kiss to gasp in a quick breath before John’s lips returned with no less frenzy. There was just enough space that she could work loose the buttons of his vest, but before she could even think to peel him out of it, her shirt fell over her shoulders and caught at her elbows.

His kisses burned along her jaw and down her neck. His sharp teeth teasing at the thin skin covering her collarbone parted her lips again with a shaky, moaning gasp. Suddenly, all she could think of was the welcome heat of his mouth on her cold skin. It was all she wanted right that moment. Her hands smoothed over his wet hair as his lips inched along the strap of her bra, following the line downward. His beard tickled at oversensitive skin with each successive kiss.

Those devilish blue eyes were on hers again when he halted for a moment. She could only tell he was smiling by the twinkle in his eyes, the light and the angle hiding that mischievous expression from all but her imagination. He nuzzled her breast, then nipped at her pointedly hardened nipple through the lace and silk of her bra. The taunt left her mewling. She couldn’t take her green eyes off him.

Manicured nails scratched at her shoulder, and down her arm as he trailed the strap along the same route her shirt fell. She shivered and goosebumps broke out over her right side when her bra cup peeled away from her icy skin.

The heat in his eyes made her breath come short even before he struck. With the speed of a viper, the fire of his mouth latched onto her freshly exposed skin. Leah cried out, her hands clutching at him and the rest of her body tried to entwine itself with him. It was his arms around her that kept her from sliding to the floor. He eased away from her only long enough to slide her up onto the edge of the desk.

Finally, she managed to push the open vest over his shoulders, and John shed it fast, leaving it where it fell. Striking with the speed of a born predator, he had her face in his hands in the very next instant. Kissing her mouth open to lick into it like he was trying to taste her very soul.

Leah hooked her legs around his hips in an attempt to anchor herself to something solid as she shook her blouse free. John’s hands—one at the center of her back, the other on her shoulder—completely bared her chest when he plucked the clasp free and pulled her bra from between them. As the kiss broke, her hands ran over his chest, and the storm blew a raging gust that raised goosebumps on her bare flesh

John’s hands tightened on her hips when his eyes moved over her. Her skin prickled under his steady gaze as his long fingers traced the curve of her ribs. The way he looked at her body incensed her. He couldn’t look away, like he was enraptured by the very sight of her. Hell, she barely breathed as he touched every inch of her exposed skin from the back of her hands, which had a white-knuckled grip on his shirt, to her neck. John bent his head and brushed a soft kiss against the inside of her wrist. Then another to her shoulder, her throat, her sternum. He buried his face against her belly as if savoring its softness.

His reaction stunned her into stillness. It was foreign to have someone so intently focused on her, and it left her passively observing, at least until his teeth nipped at her skin. The first bite was gentle, but still startling. The next less so, but a little harder. The temperature difference between his tongue and her skin stole her breath again when he lathed it over her pert nipple. Leah leaned into it, pressing her body toward his mouth in sacrifice and a silent request for more.

“John,” she suspired, like her own sacred prayer.

His mouth returned to hers with a hunger that stole the breath from her lungs. He pulled her close again and she could only hold on for dear life. It wasn’t until he planted her on the old sofa in the corner that she realized why she’d felt like she was floating. John’s shirt had to go, she decided once she was on her back. Leah sucked at his tongue when next he offered it. And John pressed his body against hers in ways that left her head spinning. Her fingers tore awkwardly at buttons that seemed hell bent on staying affixed. At some point, she gave up on unbuttoning and just started tugging.

John bruised her heart a little when he pulled away. But any infraction instantly healed when his shirt came completely off. Leah bolted upright and buried her face against his skin, touching and tasting ink and scars. He knelt there allowing her time to worship his body with a shade of the attentiveness he’d paid hers. The hand on her knee squeezed when she nibbled. His breath got thready when she ran her tongue across his flesh with abandon. He petted her hair gently until his patience wore thin.

“Leah,” he whispered against her hair. He pressed a kiss at her hairline, and she turned her face back toward him. John held her chin and met her lips again.

Her patience broke in that instance. She shifted in his grip, one hand dipping into her pocket before both of them went for her belt. Four hands proved too damn many when John started to help, so Leah leaned back and lifted her hips to allow him to tug the wet denim off her. Aiming for efficiency, he took her panties with them, while she toed off her boots, sending them clunking along the concrete floor.

When she touched his cheek, he leaned in once more to kiss her. It went gentle again. Like all the rush of the last several minutes had been an illusion. He inched them further onto the couch, his skin against hers.

When she gasped with discomfort, he caught the difference and pulled away. “You okay?”

“Belt buckle,” she said.

John grinned at her. “If you wanted me out of my pants—”

“Take them off,” she told him with a smile. “Please.”

He shifted onto his knees then stood beside the sofa. He worked his own boots off, while she slipped her socks off and watched him. His jeans took a little extra coaxing thanks to the combination of rain and the trim cut of them; Leah offered some help when they got tangled around his knees.

“Those too,” she suggested.

The boxers fell to the concrete far easier. Leah let her eyes move over him from head to toe. He was somehow just as statuesque and enticing out of clothes as he was in them. The black tattoos peppering his body stood out against his pale skin. Lean muscle corded along his frame, flexing under her undivided attention Biting her bottom lip, she crooked her finger at him. He pressed one knee onto the sofa and leaned over her. Leah held his face in both her hands, kissing him sweetly before she leaned back again intent on bringing him with her.

His skin warmed hers as his body covered her and settled between her legs. They kissed and touched like they had forever to tease out the minutest mysteries of one another’s bodies. John would lean over her, watching her reactions like a hawk with the curiosity of a scientist trying to work out the properties of some newly discovered element.

Light kisses played over her lips and down her neck as his fingers teased up the inside of her thigh. He shifted just enough to press his hand over her mound. When she bit her bottom lip, he dragged his fingers over his tongue before returning them. Leah’s gaze shifted from his eyes to the hungry way his mouth fell open as he teased a finger at her entrance.

A wolfish growl hung in his throat as his tongue pushed over his lips. In the next instant, his mouth was on hers again. She gasped into his mouth when he teased further, pressing a single digit deeper into her heat. Leah shifted her hand from his back. Wrapping her fingers around the velvety hardness of his erection, she earned a moan that echoed between them.

“I want you,” he groaned against her mouth.

“I can tell,” she teased, giving him another slow pump.

His eyes slipped closed as he pressed his forehead against her shoulder. Leah tucked her other hand under her hip and easily found what she’d retrieved earlier. “I do, too, John,” she admitted, tapping his shoulder with the condom wrapper. “Have for a while now.”

He glanced up again, noticing what she held. He shot her a smile. “I see that,” he retorted. His fingers curled inside her and he watched as she arched against the sofa with a low moan. The teasing didn’t ease up. As they kissed, he pressed her further, adding a second finger to his machinations. Then he allowed the chilly stormy gusts to prickle against her overheated skin again when he let the weather slip between them again.

Leah couldn’t think to complain, because his thumb pressed against her swollen clit. He circled the straining bundle of nerves expertly. Leaning over her, he watched every second of it as he took her apart with one hand. Through barely parted lips he stole every breath she exhaled shakily. Like so many other times, that piercing blue gaze held her transfixed. Each time the thrust of his fingers forced a breath from her lungs, her eyes would slip closed, but never for more than a single racing heartbeat. She couldn’t look away; wouldn’t hide from him.

“John,” she gasped, her voice sounded ragged almost like she was begging. And maybe she was.

“This okay?” he asked.

She nodded profusely before finding the word, “Yes.”

John groaned at her, a deep sound that seemed to shake from the very core of him.

Clinging to the edge, her hand on the back of his neck tightened like he might be the only thing that would keep her from being lost to the universe when the fire broke out. “Oh, God,” she gasped. “Yes. Yes, please, John,” she moaned her hips bucked against his hand with wild abandon inspired by the rush of her orgasm.

Despite her attempts not to break his gaze, it was inevitable. Writhing beneath him, Leah pressed her head back, finally letting her eyes slip closed. His lips caressed her neck; his hand refusing to still as her body fluttered around his long, delicate fingers.

“Leah,” he replied against her skin. “You’re amazing. So beautiful.” His lips eased over her body, not letting her pulse slow in the least. “I’ve thought about this … too often.” The words carried a hint of self-reprimand as he whispered them beneath the corner of her jaw.

“John,” she said, trying to comfort him, both with her gentle voice and tender touch. She turned her face toward his, nuzzling against his neck and pressing forgiving kisses wherever she could reach. “So have I.” He wasn’t alone—in either desire or sin. “And not a single one of those fantasies holds a candle to even just having your lips on mine.”

The admission earned her exactly what she wanted. His hungry mouth covered hers, enticing tongue parting her willing lips to allow it to fill her. But she wanted more. Her hand moved tight along his length, rounding the head, and spreading the gathering pre-cum as she stroked him. The rumbling in his chest sent a shudder through her.

When he pulled away, shifting his hips into her grip. “It’s a struggle.”

“What?” she asked, her hold on him easing.

“Wanting you so badly.” Leaning over her on trembling arms, John didn’t pull away. His continued movement in pace with her touch encouraged her to keep stroking his cock. “The thoughts of having you like this. Trembling beneath me. They can be overwhelming.”

She didn’t know if she should apologize or be pleased that she affected him at least as completely as he did her. “I know,” she admitted.

His mouth landed on hers again. The heat of his kisses did nothing to dim the pulse pounding through her body and between her legs. Her orgasm had only managed to sharpen the point of her desire for him. “Leah,” his hand went to her wrist as he pressed his forehead against hers, “If you don’t stop, I’m going to come.”

“That’s kind of the point, John,” she teased.

The smile that played on his lips brought that twinkle to his eyes. “Not yet.”

She tipped her head in curiosity and blinked at him.

“I want to be inside you.”

“Fuck,” she breathed, sinking into the sofa with the weight of his admission. “Me, too.” She really did.

Pressing a gentle kiss on the center of her forehead, John knelt between her legs. His hand on her wrist guided hers away from his cock so that he could roll on the condom she’d brought with her. The crinkly sound pitched a little higher the lower down it unfurled. Leah twitched under the scrutiny of his gaze, nude and laid out before him there was no way he’d miss the scars of a life-long tomboy, or the bruises dotting her body from daily physical training and sparring.

Somehow, the heat in his gaze didn’t suggest that he noticed those flaws at all. In fact, he planted soft kisses along her body as he shifted towards her again.

Then he caught her hand and pulled her upright. “Come here,” he suggested as he sat back against the sofa. “I want to feel you again.”

She moved in cooperation with his shift, knowing he was right. Atop his lap she would have the leverage to control the angles for both their enjoyment. As she knelt over his hips, John teased himself against her folds; she couldn’t be sure if the rolling pressure against her clit was intentional at first. Then she noticed the smirk curving his mouth. That look read blatantly as purposeful, and she grinned at him.

Again, like with every other touch, he stared at her when he shifted himself toward her entrance then brought his hips upward. “Fuck,” he breathed, slipping the tip into her before easing away again.

Leah was game to goad and excite him. She hovered there, making him bring his hips up again to feel the grasp of her body. The free hand on her hip tightened and pressed downward in suggestion as well, and only after another thready moan on his part did she move. Slowly, she lowered herself. He still snapped his hips toward hers. Both his hands squeezed her hips when she settled onto his lap completely.

“You feel amazing,” he whispered against her mouth.

Once inside her, his rush seemed to ease. He cursed again with the languid roll of her hips. His lips brushed over her skin and against her mouth while letting her find her own pace, though his hips still moved beneath her. Kissing him with relaxed abandon, Leah rolled her body against his in a thoroughly greedy motion.

“I want to feel every inch of you,” she proclaimed, resting her forehead against his as she rode him.

John growled at her and continued his explorations of her body. He thrust into her more forcefully in reply. “Like that?”

Her eyes sank closed for a moment as she savored it, the weight of him inside her. “Yeah—”

“Yes,” he corrected.

“Just like that.”

“Say it again,” he prompted.

“Just like that,” she repeated.

“Say, yes.” His voice sharpened with the force of the upward thrust of his hips.

She pressed her mouth to his. “Yes,” she breathed against his lips. “Yes, John.”

Another groan echoed between them. It was a visceral sound that prickled along the nerves of her spine while he bowed his head to tease at her nipples. Leah threaded her fingers into his hair, her fist tightening as he toyed with her sensitive skin.

“Yes,” she moaned again, raking her hips along the length of his cock. His hardness sang against her soft flesh in the most exquisite manner. She couldn’t keep the word off her lips. Not when he nibbled at her collarbones, and most decidedly not with his hand between her legs.

The pressure was slight at first, teasing in the most delightful way until it twisted into wanton need. Eventually, his hand didn’t even have to move. She eased herself along his length and against his fingertips in an increasingly pointed pace. The tender exploratory nature of their slow love making turned rapidly needier.

“You feel amazing,” he moaned. John snapped his hips up at the crest of her movement.

Their breathing came hard and fast. Leah gripped the back of his neck maybe a little too tight as she pressed her forehead against his. As if to taunt, she clenched around him even more.

The animalistic sound that parted his lips brought a proud smile to hers.

“Don’t stop,” she begged.

“Never,” he told her, stealing a kiss as he stared up at her.

“You feel so good,” she told him, blinking slow.

“Don’t close your eyes,” John told her in a rough voice.

She hadn’t even realized that she had closed them until he said something. Looking him in the eye, her moans became more fervent.

“Yes,” he whispered at her, staring into her eyes.

“John,” she whimpered unsteadily.

He pressed a quick kiss against her mouth. Pulling away again, he had to prompt her again, “Look at me.”

Her breathing stopped for a second, before falling back into a rough gasping rhythm as a coil seemed to twist inside her tighter and tighter. She just needed …

“Yes. That’s it,” he coaxed. “Let go, Leah.”

It was like that was the thing her body had been waiting for. “Yes,” she gasped as some ethereal thread snapped loose and her body shuddered against and around him.

John shifted them with ease. One hand clasping the back of her neck as his body covered hers.

“Yes, John. Please.”

His hips snapped against hers, the rain on the metal roof barely a contest for the wanton sound of their moans and obscene cacophony of their bodies moving together, chasing shared passion. She held onto him, moving with him as best as her own orgasm would allow her.

“Leah.”

His voice pulled her attention back to him. “Yes, John,” she purred, realizing she must have closed her eyes again. Trying to lock her green eyes on his, she did everything she could to not break that connection this time.

“Oh, yes, Leah. Yes,” he growled as his firm movements found a more final rhythm. John buried himself inside her as he came, easing back to thrust into her hard and fast again and again. The rigidness in his body faded quickly as he lay against her. His breath echoed in her ear as she felt him brush her hair away from her face.

His lips were soft against hers when they kissed again. John shifted just enough to ease himself out of her while holding onto the condom. After disposing of it, he grabbed the blanket hanging on the back of the sofa and draped it over them. Bonelessly, Leah snuggled up against him with her back to his chest, and they laid there watching the storm rage outside.

“Might have to make a habit of not checking the weather report,” he whispered against the shell of her ear.

Leah laughed and turned her head. “I can live with that.”

He nudged her chin to turn her head and sealed their lips again with another deep, gentle kiss.


End file.
